The email is still among the most crucial forms of business communication. Each day, millions of emails are sent around the world—from companies to their suppliers and customers, from employees to their bosses and managers, and from a colleague to another. There are many reasons for the success of email in business communication, and the biggest is its immediacy. An email is delivered and received almost immediately, no matter where your recipient is located. Hence, emails can help streamline external and internal communication, making it easier and faster to send and share important information in an almost real-time situation.
More benefits of email
Apart from immediacy, emails are also low-cost communication tools. What’s more, users get to keep a record of the messages in their inbox, which is easier to search. In some cases, email can be used as an effective marketing tool for a business to share information about its services and products to existing and potential customers.
A business without email
Interruptions to your email access can impact your company’s productivity as it causes downtime. Moreover, an email outage may affect profitability when it prevents you from being able to answer promptly to your supplier or customer’s messages. This is why it pays to have at least two email services or clients for business. That way, when one is down, you can still use the other one as backup.
Email services and email clients
An email service is also known as ‘webmail’, and it lets you review, send, or receive email from a web browser, while an email client is an email reader program that lets you access and manage your email from your workstation or desktop. There are different kinds of email clients and email services for businesses, and each would have its own pros and cons. The two most commonly used email services for businesses are Gmail for Work and Office 365.
Gmail for Business gives the advantage of having a custom email for your company, with 30GB or inbox storage. A customized email address (i.e. @yourcompany.com) can help build customer trust and establish a more professional image for your business. Gmail for Work is compatible with email clients like Microsoft Outlook, and you get other perks like 24/7 support and the absence of ads. It lets you make all the necessary group mailing lists for your business, too. The same platform lets you compose and re-read email on your mobile devices, even without a connection. Any outgoing messages will be sent once you are back online.
There are many ways that you can make the most of Gmail for Work, such as by creating a feature-rich signature for personal and business-related emails. Another way is to use the canned responses feature, which lets you store a frequently used email copy, which can be inserted easily into other emails.
Office 365 email lets you access contacts, shared calendars, and emails anywhere, so you can work anywhere. Microsoft offers it in different plans and pricing options, so you should be able to find the right package that suits the unique needs of your business. Office 365 syncs calendars, contact information, and emails in real time across multiple devices, so you can be sure that everything is up to date. Shared calendars allow you to see your contacts’ schedule so you know immediately if they are busy or not. This way, it is easier to schedule important matters with them. Office 365 safeguards your mobile data with the option to remotely wipe everything out remotely, in case you lose your phone.
You can make your emails look distinctive with Office 365, which lets you include images. You can send large emails up to 150MB. Moreover, each user is provided with up to 50GB of storage, so you can keep as many files and messages as necessary. Like Gmail for Work, Office 365 lets you customize your own domain name, so you can feature your business and build your brand. Office 365 is ad-free, secure, and easy to manage, too.
Remember that when choosing an email service and email client, you need to determine exactly what your business needs. Consulting with a reputable IT support and service provider should help you identify the unique email requirements of your business, so you can find the right email solution that is cost-effective and can help improve your productivity.
About the Author:
Mike Rana is the Chief Technology Advisor of Orion Network Solutions. Orion Network Solutions specializes in providing Computer Installation, Maintenance, and Consulting services along with 24×7 help desk services for small and midsize companies. We provide network solutions that enable small businesses to not only lower their management cost but also increases employee productivity at the same low price. We offer network solution that becomes an integral part of your organization and can provide an increase in productivity of your organization.
